Power's bid to save pub darts

And Wolverhampton ace Wayne Jones is backing him all the way.

Taylor fears the game is being pushing into oblivion by dining tables and comfy settees as 21st Century taverns are being turned into eating houses.

He believes that if something isn't done pretty quickly the next generation will never see a dartboard or never throw an arrow.

His move follows a survey by on-line bookmaker Blue Square which shows that while five years ago nearly half the pub going population played darts today only 10 per cent had played in the last 12 months.

Taylor, in Stafford next week for a charity darts night at St Leonard's Sports and Social Club, said: "Darts has given me many great opportunities and memories."

And he warned: "Unless we get behind the campaign to Save Our Darts and encourage more landlords to install a dart board, the game really could be consigned to the history books just 30 years from now."

Taylor, 46, was himself discovered playing in the pubs of Stoke-on-Trent and went on to win 13 global titles, eight world matchplays and seven world grand prix.

Save Our Darts (www.saveourdarts.com) has been launched with the aims of getting another 10,000 dart boards in pubs by 2017. The survey reveals that 40 per cent of men in their twenties had never thrown a dart in their lives, 39 per cent of young men had no idea what a bullseye is worth and only just over half – 53 per cent – of British pubs now has a dart board.

It showed that instead of darts 33 per cent of today's drinkers preferred a pub with adventurous food, and 27 per cent favoured extensive beer and wine lists.

Comfy sofas took the vote of 15 per cent, and 14 per cent went for good music. A mere one per cent preferred the the chance to enjoy a game of darts.

But it is not all bad news. The report showed that 66 per cent of Britons were nostalgic for the sport and would play if they had the chance.

Professional Darts Corporation chief executive Tim Darby said: "Darts is now enjoying a real boom in terms of crowds and televised audiences, but increasingly less people are able to take part in their own pubs. It would be great if the current interest of the public could be reflected by pubs giving their punters the chance to take part."

Wolverhampton darts ace Wayne Jones said today he was backing the campaign all the way. The 41-year-old father-of-three from Wednesfield travels the world with the sport and in 2005, made the semi-finals of the World Championship.

He said today: "As far as television is concerned, darts is getting more and more popular because the viewing figures are huge, but in the pub it is a different matter."

Taylor is also currently on a fitness kick after losing his world championship title to Dutchman Ray van Barneveld.

He is half way through a 12-week programme withh Staffordshire University and has shed 1st 3lb and his cholesterol level has dropped from 5.8 to 3.5.

Taylor's slimline tactic seems to have paid off when in a recent Holsten Premier League game in Sheffield he came back from 5-1 down to beat Barneveld 8-6. The match was watched by a record league crowd of 5,000. A Wolverhampton Civic Hall last month he played to a sell-out crowd of 1,400 in a Premier League match but this time had to settle for a draw with veteran former world champ Dennis 'The Menace' Priestley.

On his visit to Stafford, also expected to draw a huge crowd, Taylor will take on nine local players in a series of games of 701 and there will also be a full programme of live entertainment.

Taylor will be at St Leonard's on Tuesday evening to raise money along with 'Running Paramedic' Ray Edensor for the children's charity Dreams Come True.

Tickets cost £6 and are available by calling Ray on 01785 211105.